Hi Paul. Whereabouts in Cavite?

I married a girl from Cavite province in June 2011. We initially made plans to marry in the civic hall there but struggled to find a way to fit everything in within a short space of time (issues with not being able to get enough time off work ) so we ended up using a marriage agent that other members of her family had already used, who set us up with a civil wedding in Paranaque City and this did the trick (the main stumbling block was the seminar and we managed to get dispensation for that) and thus managed to fit it all in including the 10 day requirement, that you refer to.

We didnt really need the seminar but it appears to be mandatory unless somehow you can get dispensation. We had a problem selecting a date that would fit in with the available timetable and the mayors calendar LOL.

(BTW, we used Island Cove for the reception and stayed there in the lead up to the advanced wedding ceremony and a few days the other side of that.)

On the CNI exchange, we didnt have to make an appointment but I gather that is the case now. The UKBA do a set of notes on their requirements for CNI exchange. Once we got the local CNI from the UKBA we then gave it to our agent, so I cant help you there, unless of course you use an agent too. The agent dealt with the Paranaque City authorities from then on in. We had to make a preliminary appearance at the Paranaque Civic hall but the agent dealt with everything on our behalf, we just had to be present.

BTW. We managed to squeeze in a trip to VFS, which was worth doing.

Documents? I recall she had to submit her Cenomar (CNI) and passport and photos and (not a document I know but) her mom had to give her signed authorisation / permission as she was 23 yo .....dont know if I have missed anything there. She had her Cenomar and passport at the UKBA too for the CNI exchange.

I notice that some advise on marrying back here in the UK but opinion is split on that. One of the drawbacks to marrying in the UK is that one has to fork out for both FLR and the Fiancee visa. Approximately a doubling of fees. In our case we had no choice as her mom insisted on marriage in the Philippines ( I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong on the fees )